The latest release of statistical information from Facebook has shown that a high proportion of its users access it via mobile devices. With advertisements displaying differently on mobile screens, this will leave businesses wondering how best to approach a shifting market as the social media platform itself aims to refocus and improve existing marketing apps.
The sheer size of Facebook has made it the number one platform for social media marketing for some time now, but the assumption has been that users will generally be accessing it from laptop or desktop computers or from tablets.
Shifting Towards Mobile
Now Facebook says that 78% of its users access it via mobiles –101 million people per day in the US alone. This figure may be slightly misleading, as some of these people also access it via computers; however, it still represents a swing with significant implications for advertisers.
What is more, all the evidence is that the shift toward mobile access is a growing one, and it is one that will have further implications as Facebook begins to expand into parts of the world where traditional computer use is less common.
It was often suggested that Facebook itself would run into problems when this shift occurred, and the company has been working hard to rebuild its systems in a more mobile-friendly format. This means that there are now improved options for advertisers; however, it is important to acknowledge that advertising designs will need to change.
The first few words of an ad will become all the more important, and advertisers will need to think carefully about image formats. If an ad links to a business website, that site will itself need to function well on mobile devices.
“We are doing this because we believe brands and businesses should think differently about how people engage with Facebook, especially on mobile,” Facebook said in a statement, stressing that the customers it sees as most worth targeting are those who access the site daily.
Customers such as these are not only more engaged with the online world, making them more likely to buy online, but they also interact more with other users and are more likely to talk about the products and services they have used or cool ads that have grabbed their attention. This requires a new approach to marketing and is something that has implications far beyond Facebook itself.
Xcellimark is well positioned to help businesses explore these ideas and explore their mass market mobile potential. For more information, contact Xcellimark at (888) 318-3950 ext.211.
